TEHRAN, April 23, YJC - The chief of Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces says as many as 300,000 members of the service will be deployed to guarantee security during general elections next month.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - Brigadier General
Hossein Ashtari said the elections are "the most important political
event” to take place in the country, adding his forces are directly
responsible to thwart any possible threat.
"The country enjoys
exemplary security,” but "the armed forces, police and the security
apparatus should always assume that something is going to happen," he
said.
"We should pay attention to the regional and international
developments, and maintain necessary readiness to confront any type
of threat,” Ashtari added.
He touched on the activities of
Takfiri and Salafi groups, saying "thanks to the readiness of the armed
forces and the vigilance of the Eminent Leader of the Revolution
(Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei), all plots have been foiled" so far.
"We should maintain this readiness and vigilance because preparedness would forestall any movements in various domains."
Ashtari
said police's "preemptive measures and its intelligence superiority
have always played an effective and useful role in confronting threats
in various areas.”
Iran's armed and security forces, he said, have
thwarted individuals and groups who sought to infiltrate the country
and harm the establishment in the past.
With Iranians gearing up
to go the polls next month, police's priority is to
enhance intelligence command and operational preparedness in border
areas, he said.
In recent years, Iran's borders with Iraq in the
West and those with Pakistan and Afghanistan in the east have faced
security challenges from Takfiri and other groups which Tehran says are
supported by US, British and Saudi intelligence services.
On
Monday, commander of the Special Units of the Iranian Police Force
Hassan Karami said 20,000 Iranian police forces would be providing
security at the ballot boxes on the voting day on May 19.
Some 55 million
Iranians will go to the polls on the day to choose a new president as
well as new members of the city and village councils.
Source: Press TV